In a U-turn that will alarm Egypt’s liberals and its neighbours, the Muslim
Brotherhood announced yesterday that it was considering fielding a candidate
in May’s presidential elections.

The Islamists have given repeated assurances in the past year that they would
not seek Egypt’s top political job nor try to seize control of the state.

However, Professor Amr Darrag, secretary-general of the Muslim Brotherhood in
Giza, told The Times: “None of the current candidates fully satisfies
our criteria. There are many people in the Brotherhood who are qualified.”

A Muslim Brotherhood candidate would stand a strong chance, giving the
Islamist group